This guide is now becoming out of date, but should still give a very good start. I have not personally used EAC since some time mid-07. I now strongly suggest using dBpoweramp Reference. Note, EAC is free, dBpoweramp is not, plus to get the real benefits you need the better (ie more expensive package - Reference, not powerpack). However, dBpoweramp outperforms EAC in secure ripping on drives with C2 handling (basically most modern drives), being both faster and more reliable. In my experience dBpoweramp is also more stable than EAC. dBpoweramp is also being actively developed and updated. Spoon, its developer, is an active member here at HA. dBpoweramp is much easier to set up and configure, and features the best meta-data system available - PerfectMeta! A guide is available dBpoweramp FLAC guide

Extraction Tab[X] Fill up missing offset samples with silence *Optional. For drives that overread lead in/out this is not needed.*[ ] No use of null samples for CRC calculations *Doesnt change audio*[X] Synchronize between tracks [ ] Delete leading and trailing silent blocks [X] Skip track extraction on read or sync errors (wont affect rip, but I check yes for next 3)[X] Skip track extraction after duration longer than X times realtime[X] After each 30 minutes of extraction, cool down the drive for 5 mins[X] Lock drive tray during extractionExtraction and compression priority: NormalError recovery quality: Medium **this is a change from my previous recommendation. This will decrease the number of error bars from 5 to 3. I have never had a rip go past 3 bars (really usually only 2 at most) and have an error free rip. Save the time. Plus its easier on your drive.

Extraction Method TabSecure Mode (after "detect read features" option is used, with appropriate settings)**It is also reasonable to use Burst Mode if you always use Shift-F6 (Test & Copy). It has been argued that this is more secure then secure mode and its tends to be faster. Burst mode alone (without Test & Copy) is not secure![X] Drive caches audio data (clears the drive cache)[ ] Drive is capable of C2

Offset / Speed TabOffset locked by AccurateRipOverread into lead-in and lead-out data (You will need to test this one on a disc, if you get a read sync error on the first or last track of a new CD your drive cant overread and the option should be unchecked - this will mean that you loose the number of samples equal to your drive offeset on either the first or last song, the only solution is a different drive)[X] Allow speed reduction during extraction[X] CD-Text Read capable drive

Offset Tab[ ] Use offset detection for encoding and decoding Do NOT check this as it will add gaps to gapless music

When ripping the tracks, I suggest using Shift-F6 (test & copy) to decrease the chance of having a bad rip go undetected. The CRCs should match for the T&C, if they don't there is a problem.

You may want to look for a drive that can overread into the lead in and lead out. You will need to get this feature to get 100% perfect copies of CDs, though you probably wont notice if you dont have it. A list of drive features can be found here:DAE Drive Feature Database - look for green in the overread column. The smaller the read offset the better too.

Plextors are almost a universally good choice. I strongly suggest investing in a Plextor since you will be archiving your CD collection. Do it once and do it right. In addition, there is a switch available that works for most Plextor drives that disables the drives cache. This gives burst mode speeds (often >30x) in secure mode. Search the forum for the -USEFUA switch if you have a plextor drive.

shouldn't this be on? one could argue that samples that are zero don't matter anyway but i see it this way: the length of a track is information, too. by cutting some samples off you are modifying information that could otherwise easily be preserved.

edit: that is also the sentiment why i rip full images + cue as opposed to single tracks. track gaps are information. by throwing them away you throw away information.

shouldn't this be on? one could argue that samples that are zero don't matter anyway but i see it this way: the length of a track is information, too. by cutting some samples off you are modifying information that could otherwise easily be preserved.

edit: that is also the sentiment why i rip full images + cue as opposed to single tracks. track gaps are information. by throwing them away you throw away information.

thoughts?

I have a related question regarding “Fill up missing offset samples with silence” in EAC. I too am ripping to FLAC using EAC ( I am ripping individual tracks, not images with cue sheets). I have a Plextor Premium (external USB model) with the offset configured using AccurateRip. I have ripped about 40 CD’s so far and I think everything is going fine. The EAC report always shows “No Errors Occurred.” The AccurateRip results vary against the database…it most cases I get all tracks accurately ripped although in some cases I get a message indicating that my CD is most likely a different pressing than the one stored in the database.

I have alternated using “Fill up missing offset samples with silence” and I don’t see a difference in either the EAC or the AccurateRip results. Given that I am using the Plextor Premium (which supports over-ride into lead-in and lead-out…which I do have selected in EAC), is it safe to assume that I am getting rips with no missing samples; thus making the missing offset samples with silence selection irrelevant. Is there any way for me to verify (beyond what I am already doing) that I am getting a bit for bit perfect copy? Thanks in advance for your help.

shouldn't this be on? one could argue that samples that are zero don't matter anyway but i see it this way: the length of a track is information, too. by cutting some samples off you are modifying information that could otherwise easily be preserved.

edit: that is also the sentiment why i rip full images + cue as opposed to single tracks. track gaps are information. by throwing them away you throw away information.

thoughts?

I have a related question regarding “Fill up missing offset samples with silence” in EAC. I too am ripping to FLAC using EAC ( I am ripping individual tracks, not images with cue sheets). I have a Plextor Premium (external USB model) with the offset configured using AccurateRip. I have ripped about 40 CD’s so far and I think everything is going fine. The EAC report always shows “No Errors Occurred.” The AccurateRip results vary against the database…it most cases I get all tracks accurately ripped although in some cases I get a message indicating that my CD is most likely a different pressing than the one stored in the database.

I have alternated using “Fill up missing offset samples with silence” and I don’t see a difference in either the EAC or the AccurateRip results. Given that I am using the Plextor Premium (which supports over-ride into lead-in and lead-out…which I do have selected in EAC), is it safe to assume that I am getting rips with no missing samples; thus making the missing offset samples with silence selection irrelevant. Is there any way for me to verify (beyond what I am already doing) that I am getting a bit for bit perfect copy? Thanks in advance for your help.

Correct. If you have a drive that over reads, you don't have any missing samples to fill up with silence. The option doesn't have any effect in that case.

shouldn't this be on? one could argue that samples that are zero don't matter anyway but i see it this way: the length of a track is information, too. by cutting some samples off you are modifying information that could otherwise easily be preserved.

edit: that is also the sentiment why i rip full images + cue as opposed to single tracks. track gaps are information. by throwing them away you throw away information.

thoughts?

I have a related question regarding “Fill up missing offset samples with silence” in EAC. I too am ripping to FLAC using EAC ( I am ripping individual tracks, not images with cue sheets). I have a Plextor Premium (external USB model) with the offset configured using AccurateRip. I have ripped about 40 CD’s so far and I think everything is going fine. The EAC report always shows “No Errors Occurred.” The AccurateRip results vary against the database…it most cases I get all tracks accurately ripped although in some cases I get a message indicating that my CD is most likely a different pressing than the one stored in the database.

I have alternated using “Fill up missing offset samples with silence” and I don’t see a difference in either the EAC or the AccurateRip results. Given that I am using the Plextor Premium (which supports over-ride into lead-in and lead-out…which I do have selected in EAC), is it safe to assume that I am getting rips with no missing samples; thus making the missing offset samples with silence selection irrelevant. Is there any way for me to verify (beyond what I am already doing) that I am getting a bit for bit perfect copy? Thanks in advance for your help.

Correct. If you have a drive that over reads, you don't have any missing samples to fill up with silence. The option doesn't have any effect in that case.

Thanks for the response. Should I be doing something else to verify my rips to make sure that they are perfect bit for bit copies?

Should I be doing something else to verify my rips to make sure that they are perfect bit for bit copies?

Test & Copy? The fact that accurate stream can result in different CRC's kind of worries me. Doing Test & Copy makes it a little bit more secure, but there is a chance that T&C passes and its still not a 100% bit for bit copy.

One time I had a problematic track on a scratched cd. I reripped it numerous times w/T&C, and I had matching T&C CRC's occur twice out of about 6 to 10 tries. The two sets of matching T&C CRC's were different.... I didn't truly trust EAC had ripped it ok.

For example:

Track 6:Test CRC: Blah123Copy CRC: Blah123

and ripping again until they both match...

Track 6:Test CRC: Doh!456Copy CRC: Doh!456

Uh oh, they match each other, but not if I rip multiple times!

Test & Copy seems to be useful because it can give you a heads up that the track might be suspicious.

Problably the best way would be to rip (which you are doing already, lmpine) with an offset corrected drive with EAC in secure mode (accurate rip enabled) and compare your hashes to the database of ripped cd's. Keep in mind the 1st and last track may have different hashes because of a drive's inability to overread into lead in/lead out.

from what i understand, the "more sophisticated" settings of eac (accurate stream, c2, cache) only serve to speed the process up if the drive supports it. turning accurate stream and c2 off and turning "drive caches audio" on will increase the safety of the rip while making the process slower. what were your other settings when you got different checksum each time while not changing any settings? from personal experience i can tell that c2 error checking with lite-on drives is to be avoided.

from what i understand, the "more sophisticated" settings of eac (accurate stream, c2, cache) only serve to speed the process up if the drive supports it. turning accurate stream and c2 off and turning "drive caches audio" on will increase the safety of the rip while making the process slower. what were your other settings when you got different checksum each time while not changing any settings? from personal experience i can tell that c2 error checking with lite-on drives is to be avoided.

I was using a Lite On drive , but I was using the safest (slowest) settings:Secure Mode with Accurate Stream, Drive Caches Audio checked, C2 not checked.

I was sometimes getting matching CRC's with T&C, sometimes not matching. I did notice the CRC's it came up with would occur again, so it wasnt totally random. Mind you, the drive would slow down considerably at the rough spots of that track.